Although silver jewelry is not as expensive as gold, it has its own charm. More feminine and delicate accessories attract a large number of young girls, so a huge variety of rings and earrings are sold every year. However, this precious metal has one unpleasant feature - it quickly tarnishes and even darkens. That is why it is worth learning how to clean the blackness of a silver ring correctly in order to return the jewelry to its original beautiful appearance.
There are many homemade ways to restore attractiveness to silver rings that can be applied quite simply. This article will talk about how to clean a silver ring at home without much effort and time.
Causes of plaque
Silver is not only a beautiful precious metal, products from which can be purchased at a fairly low price, but also very useful. It has special healing properties that help kill harmful bacteria. However, due toplaque, rings lose not only their beauty, but also their usefulness, and therefore it is very important to know how to clean a darkened silver ring.
The most common reasons why silver jewelry can tarnish include:
1. Close contact of silver with sulfur. During their chemical interaction, a new substance called silver sulfide is released. In appearance, it resembles a certain analogue of black rust. However, at the same time, silver does not allow sulfide to penetrate inside, and therefore it is quite simple to clean it from blackness.
2. In addition to sulfur, water and cosmetics can also damage silver, which affect the noble metal in domestic conditions. Even profuse sweating can affect the beauty of the product quite a lot. That is why it is important to know how to clean a blackened silver ring.
Silver, no matter how you take care of it, will still become dimmer after a while, just the higher the proof, the longer it will take. However, it is still best to remove any silver rings while bathing and washing clothes to prevent harmful contact.
Cleaning Methods
If you have a question about how to clean a silver ring at home, then you can use one of the tips below. Most often, simple dirt appears on jewelry, which is quite easy to deal with. Now many jewelry stores sell special substances that are designed specifically for cleaning silver items, andalso polishes for them. Using them is quite easy, the main thing is to keep the rings in the product for the right amount of time, and then do not forget to wipe with a napkin.
However, if you do not want to spend extra, but are still interested in how to clean a silver ring, then you can use improvised means.
Laundry soap
Normal dirt is fairly easy to clean with standard inexpensive soap. In order to clean the silver ring well at home, you should take a piece of laundry soap and a grater. It is necessary to rub a small amount of soap shavings, and then heat the soap in a water bath to a liquid state and dilute with a small amount of warm water. The silver ring should be placed in the resulting mixture for 10 minutes. At the end of this time, you should remove the jewelry and clean it with a toothbrush. The movements should be gentle so as not to scratch the surface of the metal.
Potatoes
If you are wondering how to clean a silver ring in other ways, but without using chemicals, then an ordinary potato can come to the rescue. This vegetable is a folk remedy that helps fight the blackness and darkening of the noble metal. To use the method, you simply need to take an ordinary raw potato, peel it, and then grate it to a gruel state. The mixture will turn out similar to the one used for making potato pancakes. After that, the potato mixture must be diluted with a small amount of warm water, mix everything and immerse in it.silver ring. To be effective, it must be at least one hour, but in this situation, the longer it is there, the easier it will be to get rid of plaque.
After the ring has been removed from the potato gruel, it should be polished with a soft cloth to the desired shine. If the potato did not help restore the product to its original form, then more serious methods will have to be used.
Toothpaste
Toothpaste or powder can be an effective solution for those who are wondering how to clean a silver ring. However, they should be used with great care, because the substances contained in the toothpowder are abrasive and can damage the precious metal. Yes, it will be possible to get the jewelry cleaned of blackness and plaque quite quickly and efficiently, but in the end you can get a few ugly scratches on the product, which will only spoil the appearance of the ring. The paste, due to its soft texture, will be much less dangerous in this situation, however, the effect will be less.
To clean silver with toothpaste, apply a small amount of the substance to the ring, and then smear it all over the product. After that, you should leave it for an hour, and after that start direct cleaning. To do this, take a soft cotton cloth, with which you need to start polishing the ring. Once you achieve the desired result, you can rinse the accessory under running water to get rid ofthe remaining toothpaste, and then wipe dry again.
Baking soda
The most famous way to clean a silver ring yourself at home is a recipe with regular baking soda, which can be found in any kitchen. For use, the first step is to make a gruel - a small amount of soda should be diluted with clean warm water to obtain a mixture that resembles a paste in consistency. The paste is applied to a cotton pad or soft natural cloth and then used for polishing.
You should be very careful about the cleaning process - all movements should be very gentle to prevent scratches. After the end of the procedure, the silver ring is washed with plain water and then rubbed to get rid of excess moisture.
Ammonia
If you do not want to use the methods listed above and are interested in how else you can clean your silver ring, then take ammonia. This method is considered one of the most aggressive, and therefore everything should be done quickly and gently. To get a good result, you should take the ring and dip it in ammonia for a period not exceeding 5 minutes. After that, you should immediately start washing the product under normal running water until the smell of ammonia completely disappears. Then the ring is wiped with a cloth from excess moisture.
Coca Cola
Another interesting way to get rid of plaque isThe most famous drink in the world is Coca-Cola. To do this, it should be poured into a regular saucepan and put on the stove to heat up. The ring should lie five to seven minutes in the cola while it simmers. After that, the product must be removed and washed in warm water, and then dried thoroughly.
Lipstick
Women may be attracted to the possibility of using boring lipstick as a cleanser. If the color is no longer attractive, but you just don’t want to throw it away, use lipstick to return the silver ring to its former splendor. To do this, apply a small amount of it on a regular cotton swab, and then use it to rub all sides of the ring until a shine is obtained on the product. You need to wash off lipstick with a regular soapy solution - this method will be most effective.
Cleaning silver rings with stones
Cleaning ordinary silver rings is quite simple even at home, however, if the product has stones, then everything becomes more complicated, because you need to take into account how the insert will react to the cleaning agent. However, since expensive stones are almost never inserted into silver jewelry, which have a fairly low price, you need to focus on the rules for cleaning soft stones.
Cleaning a silver ring with cubic zirkonia is quite simple if you know how the density of the stones differs, and what exactly are the cleaning rules. The following methods should be followed:
1. A toothbrush and washing powder are recommended fordense stones like sapphire and emerald.
2. Opals, moonstones, turquoise and malachite are best cleaned with laundry soap.
3. In no case should items with garnet, ruby or topaz be heated or immersed in hot water.
However, it is best to take such jewelry to the salon for cleaning or buy a special ultrasonic bath. The same applies to those rings that have an insert of organic origin, such as coral or amber. They are extremely whimsical, and the alkaline environment can completely destroy the beauty of the accessory.
Storage rules
To prevent the need for a new cleaning, you should follow a few rules for caring for rings and other silver jewelry. These include:
1. Be sure to remove your rings during exercise as you sweat a lot.
2. Avoid contact of silver with cleaning products or boiled egg.
3. Store your silver rings in dry places where they cannot come into contact with water. The ideal place for this would be caskets. If you rarely wear jewelry, then as an additional means of protection, you can wrap them in a regular napkin and then foil. This must be done for each accessory separately to prevent them from touching.
In addition, to reduce the humidity of the environment, it is advisable to put absorbent bags in the jewelry box. They are easily found in shoe boxes.when buying a new pair. So instead of just throwing them away, take advantage of their useful properties.
Conclusion
Silver, although it belongs to the category of precious metals, is much less durable than gold or platinum. That is why it should be carefully looked after to prevent the appearance of blackness or plaque. Asking in advance the question of how to clean silver rings or earrings, it should be understood that the cleaning procedure itself must be carried out carefully, but at the same time very gently. Self-cleaning can lead to scratches on the product, which will greatly spoil its appearance and drop its value, and therefore you should not take the first product that comes across and apply it right there, without observing the existing rules.